"[first meeting with the player, in "Age 233"] I apologize for the cage. I'm afraid this situation has often required of me a more... primitive code of conduct than I might otherwise have chosen. I am Gehn. I assume you've heard of me. Yes... well, I suspect you have acquired some false information of who I am now. Not that my son would have lied to you about me; no, not Atrus. It's just that... well, I'm sure he believes me to still be the depraved father I once was. Yes... I even tried to kill him once. God, if I had accomplished that, who knows what I would have become? A great father, indeed, who tries to murder his own son. Thankfully, he trapped me on Age Five, a prison of my own creation. No Books, no precious inks, no Ages to link to, nothing but my own foolish ambitions. That was thirty years ago. Thirty years, thirty lifetimes, what does it matter? No sentence could be too harsh for the man I was. But I have changed. To be sure, the deeds of my past can never be completely atoned for, but my mission was an honorable one. [lights his pipe, takes a draw from it] I'm sorry, this is all a bit awkward. I... it's been a long time since I've attempted to persuade anyone of my intentions. Most of the people here have already made their minds up about me, one way or another. I myself do not trust the words of most men, so I don't expect you to believe me. In the end, though, you may discover that I do have more than mere words to offer."